Daughters, in my eyes, are one of the best bands of the past decade. I know that may be a bold statement, but their musicianship is outstanding. 2006's Hell Songs is a disturbingly chaotic and flawless masterpiece; which is difficult to obtain because with chaos, comes sloppiness. In the studio or at a show, Daughters are on point with every note they hit. That being said, Daughter's self-titled album is something I've been anticipating for months, and the final product is...
I like to think of Daughter's self-titled as the final part to a trilogy of albums. Canada Songs, Hell Songs and Daughters. It seems as though Daughters have traveled in all directions: north (Canada), south (Hell) and now a juxtaposition between the two. The reason I call this the final part to the trilogy is that I honestly don't believe Daughters will last much longer; after already losing a member, I can't imagine them doing another album in the future. If this is the case, Daughters go out with a bang.
Daughters don't necessarily tone down their sound on this album, but it is noticeably slower than expected. That doesn't make it any less chaotic and enthralling, however. The album opens with "The Virgin" which doesn't really justify much change from Hell Songs other than its lumbering rhythm, but it hits hard as always. A change in direction becomes apparent in the next track (possibly the single?) "The First Supper" and if my calculations are correct this is the same length as about three songs on Hell, and five songs on Canada. All mathematical humor aside, this song doesn't try to grab your attention with superhuman-speed changes. Instead it hits you with a catchy(!?) chorus that chants the surprisingly rhythm-fitting "All that blood finds its way into a man's dreams/All that blood finds its way into a man's needs." The lyrics tell a story about cannibal Captain John Boyd and his need for human flesh. I believe this is the plot for the film Ravenous, but I could be ill-informed.
"The Hit" is the pinnacle of Daughter's melodic capabilities. A thick, bassy, major chord melody arrives for a brief 30 seconds and is interrupted by an atonal, pitch-shifting guitar. These two sounds then blend together, oddly yet perfectly. "The Theatre Goer" brings Daughter's morbid lyrics back (if they weren't morbid enough already)--and then you completely forget about them when the feedback-based guitar solo blows everything out of the water. "Our Queens (One Is Many, Many Are One)" astoundingly makes a guitar noise (of which sounds like a computer rebooting) into something that could be used as a soundtrack to a frat party. "The Dead Singer" follows the formula of the album, but uses more low-end and ends abruptly with a long cymbal crash that is... actually quite appropriate! "Sweet Georgia Bloom" has a southern rhythm and doo-woppy melody that of course is covered in guitar distortion and would otherwise be goofy. We then come to the closer, "The Unattractive, Portable Head" that would've been absolutely terrible if it weren't for the triangle player Daughters had to hire. Nonetheless a great closer that ends on a spooky, halloween-esque note.
Keep in mind, that was an explanation of 28 minutes worth of music. All in all, this is a fantastic album that even rivals Hell Songs. All the songs have their own stellar characteristic that distinguishes them from one another. Every riff fits in with one another, and if played by another band would sound out of place. Even with the loss of a member, the sound is just as monolithic (if not more) as they have always been.
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